Tampa Bay Times to print just two days a week as coronavirus savages revenues

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The Tampa Bay Times is cutting five days of print from its publishing frequency.

Beginning the week of April 5, the Saint Petersburg, Florida-based newspaper will print and deliver copies only on Wednesdays and Sundays. Subscribers will get a digital replica all other days. 

“While we are in the depths of this pandemic, we simply cannot afford to produce the ink-and-paper version every day,” Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash wrote in a note to readers.

Tash characterized the reduction in frequency as temporary, but an FAQ for subscribers suggested the paper might not return to seven-day printing immediately after the crisis abides. “As we are able, we look forward to re-introducing print days,” one FAQ read.

In his column, Tash said the measure would help keep the Times’ journalism strong, and preserve the business itself at a time of “severe threat.”

“Newspaper publishing was already a challenging business, even before the pandemic,” Tash wrote. “More than half our revenue comes from advertisers. The screeching halt to the economy has sent sales plummeting for many businesses, and everybody is anxious about the future.”

He said in the space of two weeks, retailers cancelled more than $1 million in scheduled advertising.

Traffic to its tampabay.com website has surged during the coronavirus crisis, and digital subscriptions have grown, but not near enough to make up for lost advertising revenue, the paper said.

 “Until ad revenues recover, we must sharply reduce the costs of producing and delivering an edition in print,” Tash said. 

As the print and delivery changes take place, some Times employees and delivery contractors will be furloughed, the paper said.

The Times said it is adding more content to its Sunday printed edition, including a tabloid section called Game Times that will feature a week’s worth of puzzles and games.

Tampa Bay Times, Paul Tash, frequency of publication